VANCOUVER, Oct. 14, 2015 /CNW/ - Mogo (TSX: GO), Canada's financial brand for the next generation of digitally-minded consumers, is pleased to announce Chantel Chapman as its new national Financial Fitness Coach.

An entrepreneur, educator and author, Chantel will be Mogo's media spokesperson for all things financial and millennial, and will co-host the Mogo Presents: Adulting 101 tour events happening in Toronto and across Canada this fall.

As a Vancouver-based mortgage broker for over a decade, Chantel recognized a need for financial education with many of her first-time homebuyers and began creating custom content to help guide them. After volunteering as a Junior Achievement teacher, she developed a "smart money" program to help young adults make healthy fiscal choices, eventually teaching at-risk youth at charities such as Covenant House and The Boys Club Network through her company Holler For Your Dollar. She has also taught young entrepreneurs about finance through organizations such as The Next Big Thing, a non-profit co-founded by Ryan Holmes of Hootsuite.

"At Mogo we're passionate about enabling Canadians to get into financial health by giving them the right tools to achieve their goals," says David Feller, Mogo CEO. "Chantel shares that same passion but also understands the financial challenges young people face today and is an expert in empowering them with the knowledge they need to make better financial decisions. As our Financial Fitness Coach, she will be an invaluable part of the Mogo team as we accelerate our transformation of financial services in Canada."

Millennials make up close to 37%* of the Canadian workforce and are huge drivers in the success of Uber and Netflix, who've revolutionized their industries with pure digital offerings. Having anticipated the same shift in finance, Mogo is offering simple and convenient solutions combined with financial education that inspires and motivates consumers to stay in control of their spending and budgeting. Chantel will play a key part in this mission, using a fun and relatable approach to financial literacy.

"My passion is to help young people handle their finances wisely from the start," says Chapman. "There's so much conflicting advice out there and very little of it is written with young adults in mind. Canada's traditional financial institutions are underserving and overcharging young adults because they can. We don't teach enough basic financial literacy in schools. Until we do, I have a lot of work ahead of me".

In addition to offering a more convenient digital experience, what really sets Mogo apart in Chapman's view, is that unlike most lenders they offer all consumers an opportunity to lower their cost of debt and also give them the tools to get out of debt faster and onto a better financial path. For example, Mogo pays for its members to see their credit scores (provided by Equifax Canada), and uses gamification techniques to reward customers and motivate them to get out of debt sooner.

"I'm excited to work with Mogo as its Financial Fitness Coach because they're doing things differently," says Chapman. "I don't know of another lender that proactively lowers your interest rate during your loan term like they do with their Level Up program** and gives you a free prepaid Visa card like the MogoCard to help control your spending. It's a revolution in personal finances that needs to happen and one I am excited to be a part of."

ABOUT MOGOAt Mogo (TSX: GO), we are driven by the belief that technology and design can not only transform the way Canadians access financial solutions, but also give them a way to take control of their financial health. Through our online platform, we provide convenience, transparency, a more enjoyable customer experience, and greater value compared with traditional brick-and-mortar financial institutions. Since launching our first online loan product in 2006, Mogo has become the leading online lender in Canada and the only full credit spectrum lender, with over one million loans originated. With our ever-expanding portfolio of innovative and socially responsible financial solutions, including our unique Level Up program, free Mogo Prepaid Visa card, and #MogoPerks program for MogoMembers, we're building a digital financial brand for the next generation of savvy Canadians. To learn more about Mogo—recently referred to as the potential "Uber of banking" by CNBC, Toronto Star and others—visit mogo.ca.

MEDIA RESOURCES:Toronto Media Appearances: Chantel is presenting Mogo's Adulting 101 event in Toronto on October 25 and is available for Toronto media appearances Oct 22/23.